As mentioned in my last post, my long run on the 18th was attempted at race pace. This was done on very tired legs. Legs that were spent the day before pounding out 50 miles at break neck speed through the wind and the cold on the bike. So there's my excuse. I finished my long run at a 7:13 pace, or should I say it finished me. I was totally spent and exhausted. I limped through the next few days and gave my body some much deserved rest. I picked it up again on Wednesday with my regular scheduled runs. Legs felt fine and recovered.
This past weekend, I switched it up a little and did my long run the day before my ride. I ran with a group of seasoned runners, one of which is OMG fast. We started the Mercedes 1/2 Course at a respectible 7:45 pace and gradually picked up the pace throughout the run. Felt fine the whole way. Mile 9 was at a 7:12 pace. Mile 10 was at a 7:05 pace (race goal). I still felt great so at mile 11, I decided to see what I had for the last two miles. Brad, the OMG fast runner, paced me the whole way. I was hoping to pop him, but he held strong. I pushed mile 12 at 6:45, and he countered by upping the pace to 6:30 at the start of mile 13. I couldn't do it. He had me cold. He's a great runner, and I was just a pretender. I dropped it down to 6:45 and let him go. We finished the run with me gasping for breath and him jogging a few laps around the block. I was happy that I had good leg strength in the end and am feeling confident about the race in 3 weeks. It's time to taper it back a little and go in strong.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Tough Weekend
I feel nothing but wasted this morning after a tough weekend in the saddle and pounding the pavement. Couple that with a 12 hour session with Dell-On-Call last night trying to fix my lap top, you can put a fork in me cause I'm done.
Saturday morning's BBL ride was moved back from 9 am to noon to give the day a chance to warm up. It didn't happen. The temps were in the 20's and there was no sun to be found. The ride is supposed to be a fairly tame pace until we hit the attack zones, but that was not going to be today. It seemed everyone was looking to end the ride as quickly as possible by pushing the pace. With Cat 1's and 2's setting the pace, everyone suffers and tries to hang on. The pace put me in no position to play during the attack zones. I kept finding myself pushed of the back of the main pack riding in no man's land between the contenders and the pretenders. Such is life. By the end of the ride, I was just ready to end it and call it a day. My legs gave in to the harsh temps and failed me way before the ride was over. I was happy that the ride was shortened to 50 miles instead of the normal 60. No pride in this one. I just sucked it up.
Sunday I hit the Mercedes Marathon course for a little test to see where my fitness level was at. I could still feel the effects of yesterday's ride so I knew that I'd have a little * by whatever time I posted. The goal was to run the half course at race goal speed and see how I held up. Race goal is a 7:05 pace. All my training runs at this pace have felt pretty easy but I have run that pace longer than 7 miles. Fatigue stared hitting me at mile 3 and I knew I was in for a tough run. Having to push hard on the slight inclined downtown streets of Birmingham let me know I was going to struggle later on the hillier spots. And I did. I felt my tired quads the entire way. I managed to put in a strong effort though with a 7:13 pace. Not where I wanted to be, but I have to think that with fresh legs I could have been a lot closer. Time to rest and recover now, my least favorite part of training, but right now it's the most important.
Tailwinds....
Saturday morning's BBL ride was moved back from 9 am to noon to give the day a chance to warm up. It didn't happen. The temps were in the 20's and there was no sun to be found. The ride is supposed to be a fairly tame pace until we hit the attack zones, but that was not going to be today. It seemed everyone was looking to end the ride as quickly as possible by pushing the pace. With Cat 1's and 2's setting the pace, everyone suffers and tries to hang on. The pace put me in no position to play during the attack zones. I kept finding myself pushed of the back of the main pack riding in no man's land between the contenders and the pretenders. Such is life. By the end of the ride, I was just ready to end it and call it a day. My legs gave in to the harsh temps and failed me way before the ride was over. I was happy that the ride was shortened to 50 miles instead of the normal 60. No pride in this one. I just sucked it up.
Sunday I hit the Mercedes Marathon course for a little test to see where my fitness level was at. I could still feel the effects of yesterday's ride so I knew that I'd have a little * by whatever time I posted. The goal was to run the half course at race goal speed and see how I held up. Race goal is a 7:05 pace. All my training runs at this pace have felt pretty easy but I have run that pace longer than 7 miles. Fatigue stared hitting me at mile 3 and I knew I was in for a tough run. Having to push hard on the slight inclined downtown streets of Birmingham let me know I was going to struggle later on the hillier spots. And I did. I felt my tired quads the entire way. I managed to put in a strong effort though with a 7:13 pace. Not where I wanted to be, but I have to think that with fresh legs I could have been a lot closer. Time to rest and recover now, my least favorite part of training, but right now it's the most important.
Tailwinds....
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Current Training Plan
Since this is a multi-sport blog, I am clinging to the fact that anything more than 1 sport training can be considered multi-sport training. I can't say that I've been doing a lot of swimming. I'm trying to convince myself that the real reason is that I lost my best pair of jammers and I don't want to swim in my tri shorts. This is all true, but I really just haven't had the desire to don the goggles and put in the laps. That's all changing next week though. I've ordered a new pair of jammers and we'll be set to go as of Jan 20th (their expected delivery date).
As for the others, my focus has been on training for the Mercedes 1/2 Mary coming up on Feb 15th. My previous PR is 1:36 which is a 7:19 pace. There's a new course this year which totally takes out two climbs over Red Mountain so based on a faster course and better training I'm setting my goal at 1:32 which is a 7:05 pace. All of my runs have been dead on this goal. He's a typical weekly schedule:
Monday - off/rest
Tuesday - Cruise Intervals - 1.5 miles x 3 at 6:40 pace, core work afterwards
Wednesday - 4 miles easy - 8:15 pace with core work
Thursday - 6 miles - alternating between 3 mins at 6:40 pace, 1 mile at 8:15 pace.
Friday - Pace run 6-8 miles at race pace
Saturday - BBL Ride
Sunday - Run the Mercedes 1/2 Course at 8:15 pace.
This Sunday, I'm going to run a little closer to goal pace to see how I do. We're a month out so I want to take one of my last chances to push hard and test my fitness.
As for biking, my BBL post says it all. Nice long rides with a few intervals of speed. This is really helping me build a good base on the bike. Once the 1/2 Mary race is over, I'll take a couple of weeks to start slowly into a build phase for all three sports. My first race would be a Duathlon in April so with the training in the bank for running and biking, I should be in a perfect spot to put in a good show come April.
Big News - The Tour Down Under will be aired this Sunday night the 18th (5 central time) on Verses. 51K circuit race. This stage will probably be won by Robbie McEwen and his Russian squad. I'm sure Robbie will want to win a sprint race in front of his home crowd. Sad to say that this win will still take a back seat in media coverage to Lance Armstrong's comeback. I'll be pulling for him, but let's give the other guys some credit too.
As for the others, my focus has been on training for the Mercedes 1/2 Mary coming up on Feb 15th. My previous PR is 1:36 which is a 7:19 pace. There's a new course this year which totally takes out two climbs over Red Mountain so based on a faster course and better training I'm setting my goal at 1:32 which is a 7:05 pace. All of my runs have been dead on this goal. He's a typical weekly schedule:
Monday - off/rest
Tuesday - Cruise Intervals - 1.5 miles x 3 at 6:40 pace, core work afterwards
Wednesday - 4 miles easy - 8:15 pace with core work
Thursday - 6 miles - alternating between 3 mins at 6:40 pace, 1 mile at 8:15 pace.
Friday - Pace run 6-8 miles at race pace
Saturday - BBL Ride
Sunday - Run the Mercedes 1/2 Course at 8:15 pace.
This Sunday, I'm going to run a little closer to goal pace to see how I do. We're a month out so I want to take one of my last chances to push hard and test my fitness.
As for biking, my BBL post says it all. Nice long rides with a few intervals of speed. This is really helping me build a good base on the bike. Once the 1/2 Mary race is over, I'll take a couple of weeks to start slowly into a build phase for all three sports. My first race would be a Duathlon in April so with the training in the bank for running and biking, I should be in a perfect spot to put in a good show come April.
Big News - The Tour Down Under will be aired this Sunday night the 18th (5 central time) on Verses. 51K circuit race. This stage will probably be won by Robbie McEwen and his Russian squad. I'm sure Robbie will want to win a sprint race in front of his home crowd. Sad to say that this win will still take a back seat in media coverage to Lance Armstrong's comeback. I'll be pulling for him, but let's give the other guys some credit too.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Birmingham Bike League
This morning was the weekly Birmingham Bike League ride put together by several of the cycling teams in the community. Everyone recognizes the need to get the miles in during the winter months, but in a way that gives us those good base miles as well as adding a few attacks to make it fun. It's a 60 mile ride through parts of Alabama that would pretty much fit the bill of what people actually think Alabama looks like. It's definitely in the boonies.
It seems like it's rained the last month of Saturdays in Birmingham and this week would be no different. While it didn't pour on us, it drizzled enough to keep us all nasty from the road grim flying off the wheels. 5 miles into the ride I started to feel the effects of my pace run yesterday. I began to question what type of legs I'd have for the ride. I put those thoughts aside and decided just take it easy for a while and see how I felt. Once we made our way into "the boonies" as I so called them earlier, I felt a lot better and started thinking about the attack zones. With wet roads and aggressive riders out there, I was uneasy in taking the sharp turns along the route. This is a skill that I force myself to work on with each ride. The legs felt good throughout the ride. I started struggling around mile 50 for the last attack. I didn't have the legs to answer the call. It's still early in the season though, but something I will need to work on.
Due to the nasty weather as of late, bike cleaning has been a popular topic throughout the peloton. I discovered my latest product of the week thanks to a fellow rider's suggestion. Simple Green bike cleaner/degreaser is the freaking bomb. After slaving over my bike last week to do a half way job, I cleaned my bike twice as well in a fraction of the time. I sound like an info-mercial I know but this product has me stoked. It totally cleaned the build up of grease I've had on my rims in just a few wipes. Love it.
Tomorrow is a long easy paced run. I'm currently training for the Mercedes 1/2 Marathon on Feb 15th. Legs have been feeling great on the run. Let's hope the rain moves on through.
Tailwinds...
It seems like it's rained the last month of Saturdays in Birmingham and this week would be no different. While it didn't pour on us, it drizzled enough to keep us all nasty from the road grim flying off the wheels. 5 miles into the ride I started to feel the effects of my pace run yesterday. I began to question what type of legs I'd have for the ride. I put those thoughts aside and decided just take it easy for a while and see how I felt. Once we made our way into "the boonies" as I so called them earlier, I felt a lot better and started thinking about the attack zones. With wet roads and aggressive riders out there, I was uneasy in taking the sharp turns along the route. This is a skill that I force myself to work on with each ride. The legs felt good throughout the ride. I started struggling around mile 50 for the last attack. I didn't have the legs to answer the call. It's still early in the season though, but something I will need to work on.
Due to the nasty weather as of late, bike cleaning has been a popular topic throughout the peloton. I discovered my latest product of the week thanks to a fellow rider's suggestion. Simple Green bike cleaner/degreaser is the freaking bomb. After slaving over my bike last week to do a half way job, I cleaned my bike twice as well in a fraction of the time. I sound like an info-mercial I know but this product has me stoked. It totally cleaned the build up of grease I've had on my rims in just a few wipes. Love it.
Tomorrow is a long easy paced run. I'm currently training for the Mercedes 1/2 Marathon on Feb 15th. Legs have been feeling great on the run. Let's hope the rain moves on through.
Tailwinds...
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Where I Am Now
This is a new blog for me. I've been blogging for a few years under "crewdthoughts", but I needed a change. I wanted a site that stated what I was about and what my pursuits were. I'm a multisport athlete. Not just a runner, swimmer, cyclist, or a triathlete. I love them all individually and in any way you want to throw them together. I want to excel in the all individually and feel confident to pace with any specialist at any time. This blog will document my training, racing, and pursuit of that podium place.
My home base is in Birmingham, AL. My little neighborhood is a hot bed for runners and cyclist. I'm never at a loss for finding a ride or a run that challenges me. I feel very lucky to have access to streets that are very runner friendly as well as quick access to country roads ideal for a long ride. The weather is suitable year round for all sports. So I really have no excuse. My only limitations are my desire and that ever present nuisance, work.
I have set out my goals for the year which I will lay out in future posts. I'm looking forward to seeing what this year holds after taking 2008 off from any major races. I'm feeling better than I ever have and hope to improve upon my previous PR's. That will only be accomplished through my continuing efforts to push myself and learn from others. Learning has been the best part. I'm reminding constantly how much I have to learn and how important it is to train smart, but also to race smart.
So sit tight, rest, and recover. Let's get ready to race!
My home base is in Birmingham, AL. My little neighborhood is a hot bed for runners and cyclist. I'm never at a loss for finding a ride or a run that challenges me. I feel very lucky to have access to streets that are very runner friendly as well as quick access to country roads ideal for a long ride. The weather is suitable year round for all sports. So I really have no excuse. My only limitations are my desire and that ever present nuisance, work.
I have set out my goals for the year which I will lay out in future posts. I'm looking forward to seeing what this year holds after taking 2008 off from any major races. I'm feeling better than I ever have and hope to improve upon my previous PR's. That will only be accomplished through my continuing efforts to push myself and learn from others. Learning has been the best part. I'm reminding constantly how much I have to learn and how important it is to train smart, but also to race smart.
So sit tight, rest, and recover. Let's get ready to race!
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